


against my ruins

by poetdameron



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst, Backgroud Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence, Blood and Violence, First Kiss, Friday the 13th, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Metafiction, Non-Linear Narrative, Plot Twists, Podfic Welcome, Slasher Horror, Supernatural Elements, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27305425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetdameron/pseuds/poetdameron
Summary: What should’ve been a fun weekend turned out to be a nightmare and Robby had a theory.A stupid one. That they were in a movie.Miguel knew that they were not gonna make it.
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence, Miguel Diaz/Robby Keene
Comments: 22
Kudos: 92





	against my ruins

**Author's Note:**

> Additional Warnings: The violence and blood aren't truly graphic, this is major angst more than anything. The plot twist is POSITIVE, but if you don't mind spoilers and want to make sure of what the major warning is, read the end notes.
> 
> -
> 
> _chi-chi, ah-ah_
> 
> Happy Halloween! This is a remix of an old original story of mine, that then became a fic for another fandom, and then this one. I've wrote this story three times, and this is the one that I truuuuuuly liked. I'm very happy with it. Hope you guys like it, too.
> 
> You'll understand at the end why the body of the fic is Non-Linear. I swear at the end it all makes sense. Oh, and. The LawRusso stuff is background but also very much there. And Claire is in this one, too!

He had a bad feeling since the woods figured in the highway.

It had been Sensei’s sister’s, Claire’s, idea to go camping for a little October fun.

Miguel supposed she meant her and their family, his Sensei and Robby. But Sensei Lawrence had ended up taking him, Mr. LaRusso and his kids, to history’s awkwardest camping weekend.

The place was peaceful and beautiful when they got to the private complex of three cabins Claire had rented for the weekend, though Anthony immediately complained there was no signal and Sam frowned at the idea of sharing a cabin with her father and brother.

“I can share with Miss Lawrence.” She had said with crossed arms. “Dad, stay with your boyfriend.”

He could tell she was still mad about it, weirded out.

“Yeez, you don’t have to be such a bitch about it, you know? He’s still paying for your fancy college and your car!” Anthony said, passing her to get into the Cabin that was gonna be theirs, only the boys. “I call the double bed!”

“The double is for Miguel, Gremlin!” Robby ran to stop the boy. 

Miguel bit his bottom lip, staying in the middle of the three cabins, looking into the left one where he’ll sleep with Robby and Anthony. He saw Claire and Sam walk together into the right cabin, his Sensei and his partner standing behind him.

“Are you okay?” He heard him ask in a soft murmur.

Sensei Lawrence didn’t speak softly to anyone, not even him or Robby, or Claire herself—but he did to Mr. LaRusso and Mr. LaRusso only.

“I’m so sorry…” Mr. LaRusso said, sounding worried. “I don’t know what’s wrong, she was okay just like a month ago—”

“It’s alright.” The blonde man sighed. 

Miguel swallowed and shook his head, taking his bag. Robby came out of the cabin, looking at him from the front door with his hands on his waist before he ran to catch up with him, pretty much taking his bag from his shoulder. 

“I'll take it.” He said without looking, turning around to walk again into the place.

“I can carry my shit just fine, you know!”

But Robby only gestured with his arm,  _ this is fine _ , making Miguel take a deep breath as he felt the start of a headache. It was going to be one long weekend.

“He’s trying so hard…” Mr. LaRusso said behind him, Miguel looked back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Miguel answered, smiling at him, then looking at Sensei. “Was this a good idea?”

Mr. LaRusso bit his bottom lip, looking at Sensei too. The man sighed, and only then Miguel noticed he was carrying both his and Mr. LaRusso’s bag, too. 

He wondered if it meant something.

Was Robby trying to imitate his dad? Was this one of his many little manias to try and do good by Miguel after what happened in school a year ago? 

Miguel had noticed before. That Sensei would do little things like this for his partner. He thought it romantic at first, it seemed like something else now that Miguel was experiencing it like Mr. LaRusso. Like guilt driven favors not Robby or Sensei were aware of.

“We’ll see.” Was all he said, gently pushing them both to walk towards their respective cabins.

He gave the dense forest one final look, the bad feeling still spreading through his chest.

At least, he was sure they could survive the forest if not the awkward.

**Against My Ruins**

**6**

They were not gonna make it.

Movies were easy to experience, because at the end of the day, it didn’t matter how intense the feelings could get; it was still on a screen, and it wouldn’t actually try to murder you.

But the blood in his hands was real, and so was the wound on Robby’s shoulder, and the fact that all their friends were now dead, and that they were freezing in the lake, under the deck, shivering and scared as hell.

Days after tonight, the police and their mothers will come looking for them, only to find the ruins they had become—dry blood and horrendous wounds, and Miguel couldn’t help but wish his mother may never find him.

All he could do now was look at Robby, the way his body was shaking with the cold, his eyes still wide open in spite of the pain and exhaustion. A part of him wanted to say that this was not happening, it was  _ impossible _ , really out of the realm of possibility. 

But the truth was right in front of him.

Miguel knew, as he took Robby’s hand and interlocked their bloody fingers, the boy looking back at him with frightened green eyes as he saw the ruins they had become, that they were not going to make it.

**1**

Miguel woke up to Claire’s screams and a weird feeling that he was being watched.

It was not their cabin room, not the woods they were at, not any place they have ever known—there were other people, too. 

A woman Miguel saw at the gas station before arriving, a couple he had never seen before, the cook at the dinner they had breakfast at that morning as they drove. People that had no business with them, all trapped here as they were, in this place he had no idea of but seemed to know so well.

The only real and constant thing with him was Robby, trying to make him run, saying  _ it’s happening _ ,  _ it’s Friday the 13th and it’s happening _ .

When the hockey mask appeared, Miguel laughed. 

He laughed like a maniac, thinking this time, Sensei and Robby really did it—they went beyond themselves for the prank of the century.

It wasn’t until some lady’s head was in his hands that he realized: this was  _ not  _ a joke.

**4**

They used to joke that they would survive a situation like this; Sensei, Miguel and Robby. 

No one had seen as many horror movies as Robby had, and sure enough their fighting skills would come in hand.  _ Fear does not exist in this dojo _ , Sensei would say with a smile as Mr. LaRusso rolled his eyes as he leaned his back on Sensei’s chest when he thought they wouldn’t notice in the dark. 

Each time, Robby had been sure that they would make such a great team, he truly believed that their survival was secured.

Back then it was easy to joke. 

All Miguel had to do was ignore his growing feelings, the strange sensation in his gut every time Robby did something nice for him. He would listen to Robby all the time, walk around with him after karate when Mr. LaRusso drove him to Cobra Kai and their Senseis would spend hours together in their own world. 

It had become the best part of his day. 

And now, It was hard to look away and ignore all those feelings when your breathing is coming out heavily and you may never see that person again.

“I love you,” Robby said, breaking the silence as they rested in silence, still tender from all they’ve lost, all they were losing. 

Miguel slowly looked at him, the two of them sitting under the same old and tall tree in the deep of the woods, wishing Wannabe Jason wouldn’t find them as he tried to think of what to do, what to do, what to do—

“You think you would’ve say that if we weren’t being chasen by Jason him-fucking-self?”

There was a tiny smile on Robby’s lips. He knew he wouldn’t; none of them would.

It was fine. 

They had been running from the truth for months now, ignoring the way things were better with the other around to the point where being single seemed to be the only constant in their life from outside their little world, just so they could be together and hang out without drama.

He should have said it back in that moment. 

Maybe if they had kissed or stood up to hug, Miguel would have seen the killer coming and Robby wouldn’t be bleeding, they wouldn’t have needed to run, and run, and run, and run, and run…

**5**

“I love you too! I love you too!”

It didn’t matter how many times he said it. Robby wasn’t opening his eyes and there was nothing Miguel could do about it.

He thought of the first time he saw Robby, the anger he felt at the sight of his happy smile and big laugh at Samantha’s side. They had started bad, had become something they wouldn’t in any other circumstances, and it was all for nothing.

Their anger and prejudices, the misunderstandings, all of it had only brought them pain: the break up with Sam, the tournament, the pain in his Sensei’s eyes every time he spoke of his son, the kick, the hospital, everything that came after.

Robby never talked about juvie. He didn’t talk of his childhood, how it was to have an alcoholic father and an addicted mother. 

He only smiled and laughed with his dad in the tiny apartment where he slept the weekends. All Miguel knew of Mrs. Keene was her soft voice and sugary cooking skills she was improving still when he was invited over for dinner.

_ “You don’t have to forgive me.” _ Robby had said once as they sat together on the fountain in Miguel’s apartment complex.  _ “You know?” _

It was hard to think of it, to look past it. 

Even when he would enjoy the quiet moments with this boy, when he wanted things to be okay because Miguel loved Sensei Lawrence and he was a father to him—it would make him happy if Miguel could be okay with Robby.

_ “No,” _ Miguel admitted,  _ “I don’t have to.” _ He sighed.  _ “But I want to try.” _

It had been a start.

Before Reseda, before Cobra Kai, before All-Valley, things weren’t so right. 

He had been drowning in so much self-doubt and emptiness, he had forgotten that things could be light, that they weren’t just ruins, and that he didn’t have to be alone. 

This bright young thing in front of him had become more than he ever thought he would be, and his light was turning off in his arms as he hid them from whoever was trying to kill them.

“Robby?”

“Not dead yet.”

Miguel sighed, and his chuckle sounded strange even to him. Like a sob.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

They were just running now. Robby, always so brave, was running away from the scene with him, who had learned to step up for himself as strong as his mother had taught him, as firm and confident as Sensei had taught him. 

He wished he could have given Robby something else. 

Hope, perhaps. Hope and bravery at the end of their lives.

But the Lawrences were dead and so were the LaRussos, and the woods seemed to no end even as they walked and ran, even as the hours passed but there was no clarity in the sky.

Miguel leaned his forehead on Robby’s, the metallic smell of blood and mud didn’t bother him as long as he could feel his breathing on his face. As long as he was sure Robby was still alive.

**3**

They lost Claire first.

As they drove in circles, gas was coming down and time didn’t seem to pass. They needed to do something and all they could think of, was to not separate and maybe find a phone in the camping complex they were left.

They made it just fine to the office but the phones, as well as the power, were out. Watches didn’t run, and if Robby’s theory was right, they were the main characters and the extras they met before were now all dead.

He wished it was true, that this movie was a Jason one and they could hear it as clear as day,  _ chi-chi ah-ah _ , as he walked in, as he was coming closer and could put his cold hand and big machete through their heads.

They lost Claire first.

Mr. LaRusso had to push Sensei as they ran. Miguel pulled on his arm, stopping him from doing something stupid. You don’t kill Jason that easily, you don’t kill anyone in real life—their fighting skills meant nothing in front of a being they weren’t sure was real.

Had they been drugged? Was this a collective hallucination? Maybe someone was dreaming. Maybe this was all just a dream and the moment he died, he’ll wake up to reality and tell Robby to never put on horror movies while in the woods again.

But then it had gotten Anthony and Sam as they ran in the woods.

The last thing Miguel saw of her was the killer dragging her by the hair into the darkness, and only then—he realized he was alone with Robby.

“Dad?!” The boy ran, Miguel followed him calling out for their Senseis until they were tired and upset.

He couldn’t tell for how long they walked, but the sensation of being watched was still there and the smell of blood had become so intense, he wasn’t sure if they were truly smelling it or it had lingered from before.

All he could think of was his mother.

He couldn’t stop himself as he thought of her, desperate to find him only to be met by death and decay. Miguel closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to put all those images away—Carmen and Rosa holding themselves, Mrs. LaRusso alone in that ridiculous house of hers, Mrs. Keen alone in that tiny apartment—

They needed to find Mr. LaRusso and Sensei.

“Robby?”

There was no answer.

Miguel walked ahead, slowing down as he noticed the grass had become humid and somehow  _ shorter _ as the mud made his every step sticky and slippery.

It wasn’t until he looked down that he realized what they were stepping on wasn’t mud. He saw the dark red on his sneakers before he looked up slowly, right where Robby had been standing in front of a tree, eyes wide open for long seconds with steady tears rolling down his face in silence.

The scream Miguel let out was so painful, he wasn’t sure there was actual sound coming out his mouth. He wanted to run, put his hands to work, yell and curse, and hit something, and die and kill, and—

But his first instinct was to look at Robby, look at him and ask if this was real, if he was seeing the same thing. Robby’s eyes always seemed to see things nobody else could, like the good in people who have failed him time after time, like the smart path to get away with everything. 

The boy had collapsed on his knees with eyes still glued to the flesh and gore hanging on the tree, the rain of blood that was  _ their  _ dad, their Senseis, together even in this horror, unable to let go of the other even now.

“This is not fair—” Robby cried, sounding small like a boy, crawling in the blood and mud towards—

“Robby!” Miguel ran in front of him, covering the boy with his own body to hide him from the gruesome scene as he gave his back to it.

His father was dead,  _ their  _ father was dead. Mr. LaRusso—Claire, Anthony, Sam—they were  _ all  _ dead.

They were alone.

It hit him like cold water while sleeping, like Robby’s double kick in All-Valley, all painful things in his life—nothing compared to this moment, this precise instance of his life in which he was trapped in a dream that was trying to kill him, holding Robby Knee as if his life depended on it.

Maybe it did. 

Maybe it did because they were alone in the world and in the silence, all he could hear were his own sobs as Robby kept babbling nonsense of injustices, anger and pain made in one voice that screamed against Miguel’s chest.

He had never cried like this.

Miguel could remember losing his grandfather, losing his beloved dog, but never—never like this. Papa was sick, ready to go, they had the chance to take care of him and say goodbye. Lalo had been with him since he was three years old, he was also ready to go and he could understand why.

But Sensei Lawrence, the man he looked up to like a father, he was still young, he had  _ just  _ gotten his son back, they had just started over, all of them—he was happy, and they never said goodbye. He had his family, he had him, and his mom, and Yaya. He had Cobra Kai back, he had even gotten Hawk to come back, put Tory back on track—

He had Mr. LaRusso, and they were  _ in love _ , happy together—they—

“I was just getting to know him!” Robby cried, grabbing at Miguel’s hoodie so hard, he was sure he’d had his fingernails marked on his skin. Miguel hugged him tighter, crying harder as the other boy spoke. “Everything was going so well!”

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, Robby—”

“My—my—dad, my dad—my da—daddy!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry—” He cried as well.

“My— _hic_ —daddy—my daddy...””

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”

**2**

Robby had a theory. A stupid one. Like every theory in every movie he had ever made them watch on the weekends. But it was all they had.

“I think we are in a movie.”

“I’d kill you myself if we weren’t being chased by a maniac that thinks he is Jason,” Sam answered, and Anthony started to cry harder at his side. 

“It’s okay, It’s okay…” Claire murmured, hugging the kid.

“No, I mean it!” Robby said. Sensei kept driving with a frown, Miguel looked out the window of the SUV, trying to tune out the sound of their voices.

They were all stressed and scared as hell; of course someone would lose it at some point, it just never occurred to him it would be Robby. It was common for the mind to try and explain things, a form of escapism when it feels like there’s nowhere to run—a movie?  _ Sure _ .

But the entrance to the cabins that weren’t theirs was right ahead and Miguel sighed as Sensei drove as fast as he could to reach it and say goodbye to this hell.

“None of us remember how we got here because we fell asleep as normal in our beds. Hell, does anyone actually know where we are?”

“Drugs, kidnapping…” Mr. LaRusso suggested, Anthony sobbed on Claire’s chest.

“Mr. L, please! You said it yourself! The sensation of being watched? It’s because we are! It’s a movie!”

“Robby, come on!” Sensei said, sounding more angry every time. 

They finally passed the entrance and Miguel sighed.

“And the way people spoke to us! Dialogues! They don’t know what to say when we ask different things that aren’t part of the script! The killer can find and reach us even when he goes so slow, we can see in the dark because there’s enough light for the scene to be seen—“

“Guys,” Sensei tried to interrupt. The road was closing again, rocks instead of pavement and Miguel’s eyes opened wide.

“We’ll die like in a slasher movie: the couple that has sex, the preppy girl, and—”

“Guys…”

“Christ, Robby! Stop it!” Sam complained.

“Dad and Mr. LaRusso are the couple, Miguel is the smart one, Aunt Claire is the preppy girl, Anthony is the geek, I’m the jock, and Sam is the virgin! She’s the final girl!”

“Guys!”

By the time they all finally shut up, they were passing the cabins again. The same body they left behind was there, along with the lights, and the other cars that didn’t belong to them. They drove away in silence, faster, faster, faster until they passed the entrance again.

There was a sense of dread in the car. 

It felt like a graveyard, these ruined fragments of people they had become, with its silence and darkness. 

And then, the road closed and they passed the cabins again.

**7**

“I got another theory.”

“Shoot.”

Their clothes were damp, Robby’s shoulder looking worse than a few minutes ago, and they were walking aimlessly through the grass when they saw something like a barn on the other side.

In silence, they walked towards it. Most of Robby’s weight was on Miguel’s body, and he kept their hands joined.

“What if when we die, we go back to the real world?” He suggested, and Miguel looked at him. “Since we fulfilled our part in the story and all.”

“At this point, I believe in everything.”

In another life, Robby’s laugh would have been sarcastic, but tonight it was happy and hopeful. 

Miguel didn’t dare to tell him that he didn’t think so; these fragments of stolen moments hitting their ruins were theirs to enjoy for as long as they were able to, and Miguel loved him, he loved Robby too much right in this moment to take his hope away.

“Maybe we can make it,” Miguel said. “We’ve seen all the Friday the 13th movies, right? We can kill this bitch.”

Robby laughed again, this time seeming a bit more alive. They were close to the barn now, and suddenly the door opened, making them stop in their tracks, fear making them hold onto each other harder. 

From it—Sam’s head popped out, looking frightened but very much alive, even if covered in mud and blood.

They stopped walking, holding each other up. He wondered if they were thinking the same, about how if this was a movie, the ruins they had become were not to survive. 

But when Sam went out with a big smile, waving at them without saying a word, obviously trying not to catch anyone else’s attention… Her smile was so big, so full of relief, that Miguel couldn’t hate her even just a little bit.

“The final girl...” Robby murmured.

Miguel nodded. “These fragments I have shored against my ruins…” Robby looked up at him, now fearless but so profoundly sad. “Let’s go.”

They met Sam at the door and immediately went in. 

They were not going to make it.

**9**

Like the children they still were, they made traps in the barn and filled Sam’s bag with whatever they could use as a weapon.

Robby had become slower, the blood loss weakening him as Miguel realized—they weren’t going to make it.

“Stop saying that.” Sam had asked him as Robby slept a little. “This is not a fucking movie, we—”

She had cried as she said the story of her escape. 

How her father had run to get her and her brother, how Anthony had died, how the blood covering her was of her little brother she couldn’t protect. Her dad had stopped the machete with his own hands, had told her to run, run and find Sensei Lawrence, run and find them. 

When she ran into Sensei, she was a mess, she didn’t listen—with guilt, Sam talked of how she ran back to the scene to find her brother somehow nailed to a tree, her father in a pool of his own blood in the grass after being mutilated to death.

“I should’ve listened to him… to the two of them.” She admitted, looking down as tears filled her eyes again. “He came out of the dark, Mr. Lawrence pushed me away. He said, ran and I… I couldn’t leave him.” Sam cried. “But maybe If I had, he would have escaped! Because I was just a distraction, I froze and he—”

Robby didn’t hear the rest of it. He had stood up, walked away as he looked around. Miguel didn’t have the heart to tell her what they’ve seen, the scene they’ve found with what was left of her father and their own. He had hugged Sam instead, asuring her it was not her fault.

It was no one’s fault.

They stood in the dark now, keeping watch of the entrance as best they could. They weren’t soldiers, nor they were trained for something like this. They were just kids, covered in mud and blood, carrying scars only the 80s would put on teens in the woods.

Maybe it was all a huge irony of the Lord above. That they would end up like this, like the cinema of the 80s, with the two men that couldn’t escape their past, the era they couldn’t just let go of.

“That would be funny, I guess.” She admitted after hearing him. 

He tried to smile, looking at Robby who had laid down as they kept watch on the second floor of the barn. Miguel sighed, wishing there was more he could do, that he had a phone and they could ask for help—assure his mother it was fine, that he loved her.

“But we don’t have our out of nowhere musical number!” Sam said after, making him look again.

“Not yet.” He assured her, she smiled at him and it reminded him of how sweet she was, how full of life, different.

He was sure this girl had been his first love, he was sure he would love her forever somehow, and that maybe if things had kept its rhythm, and none of this was happening, she may have been the first to know that he loved Robby too.

“What would be our musical number?” She murmured, Miguel looked up. “I know! You remember that song in the arcade area of Golf n’ Stuff during our first date?”

“Oh.” Miguel sighed, smiling. “Young Hearts?”

“Yeah—” Sam laughed. “Uhm,” she cleared her throat. “ _Young hearts beat fast, driving down the road…_ ”

“ _Rubber, plastic, metal, glass—_ ” He tried to sing, but his throat closed. Miguel bit his bottom lip, and continued. “ _Why did you have to go...?_ ”

She kept quiet then, blinking at their feet before looking up at where Robby was lying, looking paller by the second.

“ _Young hearts die... young…_ ”

Miguel took her hand, singing with her as she looked up. “ _When they're all alone, and—_

_ there's no turning back now… _

_ There's no turning back _

_There's no turning back..._ ”

**10**

The last thing Miguel saw was the disarmed killer charging towards Sam just in time for her to kick him hard. She fought for her life, literally, with the things her father taught her, with tears in her eyes and the knowledge that she was alone in these woods now.

When he lost Robby, he felt like all he was worth was to ensure Sam survived, that she was the final girl and she could go back home safe to her mother.

He had seen the boy, the look in his eyes as he ran towards the killer without thinking, just so him and Sam could have a chance to run away. As Sam yelled for him, Miguel knew all he had was Samantha—and she needed to survive.

Robby died with a machete on his face and Miguel felt his soul leaving his body, all happening in slow motion, as Sam pulled him by the sleeve of his hoodie.

He saw him in a pool of his own blood, fingers twitching mechanically, and Miguel hoped the boy was right—he hoped he had woken up in the real world, desperate to wake him and Sam up from this nightmare.

Miguel hoped his Sensei and Mr. LaRusso were together and safe, that Anthony was alive and trying to wake up his sister, that Claire was there for Robby, that they could all be alive and well in the real world.

He hoped that if not, that at least they were together. That his grandfather would be there when he woke up in that Great Beyond Yaya was always talking about, that there was peace.

The last thing he saw was Samantha saving her own life.

Jason’s machete was deep in his chest, blood coming out like rivers, and the last thing Miguel truly saw—was Sam hitting the murderer with a shovel over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over…

**8**

“I thought I was the only one!”

Never in his wildest dreams did Miguel think he’d be hugging Sam and Robby at the same time.

But they did, they hugged each other while wet, sweaty, bloodied and smelling like shit. 

They had survived the nightmare so far and so they hugged.

Sam left them to clean themselves a little. The silence between them would’ve made Miguel anxious if it wasn’t for the night’s confessions and the understanding of what was to come, what would happen to them.

“If my theory is right,” Robby said as he gathered water in his hands, “and we wake up back in the real world after we die,” he splashed it on his face, moaning at the burn of his arm, “then remind me to kiss you.”

They weren’t gonna make it.

Miguel took a deep breath, looking at the boy.

“Or, you can kiss me now.” He suggested, Robby looked at him. He was starting to look sick, paper pale. “Be… be my last kiss.”

Robby smiled at him, there was something deeply sad in his eyes as he nodded. Miguel sighed, ignoring the part of his brain that screamed Sam was right there—he put a hand on Robby’s cheek and leaned down slowly, carefully.

The boy closed the distance between them, kissing him softly in spite of the cold of his lips. He tasted like blood and mud—but Miguel kissed him like the dying men they were. 

He kissed him with his mouth open, his other hand gripping his waist strong, his tongue taking a good taste of him.

They lend their foreheads together, and Miguel took a good look at Robby’s green eyes.

All these ruins they had become, coming together into the shore—this was a good taste to die with.

* * *

  
  
  
  
  


Miguel woke up with a kick.

“Robby!” He heard a woman yell, the sound of doors opening and closing, a commotion coming from outside.

The lights went on, his Sensei and his partner were at the door with frightened expressions and very much alive, running towards them as Mr. LaRusso turned towards his son.

“Dad!” Anthony yelled, running from his bed to his father’s arms sobbing like a little child once the man hugged him.

It was only when Sensei came in that he realized Claire and Sam were at the door, too. Tears were running down Samantha’s pale face, holding onto Claire for dear life as if she was afraid the floor was going to become water at any given moment.

“Are you kids okay?” Sensei asked, but Miguel’s eyes were on Sam.

He remembered her, covered in her brother’s blood, hitting a masked murderer with a shovel. Their eyes met for seconds, but she looked away and hid her face in Claire’s chest as the woman hugged her stronger.

“Miguel?” Robby said.

He looked up but Robby was already out of the bunk. He was standing with an arm around his dad’s waist and a worried expression—and the sight of him made his heart hurt.

“I thought you were dead!”

No one questioned him. No one said anything as he stood up and ran to hug the boy.

His arms around him were so real, Miguel had to resist the urge to cry. 

Because he had seen him die. He had seen him lose it in the woods as they cried together for the same father, for their friends, the way everything had gone to shit so fast, so out of nowhere—

“Sensei, I saw you—I saw—” And he was hugging him, too.

He felt the man hug then both, and Miguel hoped everyone else was getting a hug too. Soon, he felt someone else with them—Claire. Sensei’s sister was hugging them, too as she reassured Miguel everything was okay, they were alive—they were here, complete and alive. Free from the nightmare.

Unsure of how long they stood there hugging, Miguel dried a tear from his face as he looked at the others. 

Robby was holding his hand, Sam was crying on her dad’s chest as he spoke softly to her, her brother caressing her back with a deep frown.

“Did we all have the same dream...?” Mr. LaRusso asked in an incredulous murmur, but he was looking at Sensei.

“That was not a dream!” Anthony said with alarm. “No way that was a dream!”

“It felt real…” Claire added, crossing her arms over her chest. “Way too real.”

He could feel Sensei was nervous at their side, but Miguel only squeezed Robby’s hand and wished there was something they could do—something they could say. But he had lost him. He had lost Robby and Sensei, and Claire, and Sam—and Anthony and Mr.LaRusso. He had lost them all in the dream, and all he wanted was to—

“John?” Mr. LaRusso said, big pleading eyes looking at Sensei.

“Pack it up, kids. We’re leaving!” Sensei announced, pulling him and Robby to look at him. Miguel blinked. “You two okay?” He asked again.

Robby cleared his throat. “Yeah, yeah, we—I’m fine.”

“I think I’m okay.” Miguel answered, not missing when his Sensei looked down at their hands, then back up without blinking.

“Right.” He cleared his throat after swallowing. “Get your shit into the SUV, let’s go!”

They packed faster than ever, nobody talked as they got everything into the car in the middle of the night. Anthony didn’t even complain as he usually would, he simply put all his things together and was the first in the car as him and Robby put the bags in the trunk.

For a moment, he looked at Claire and the way she had her eyes on something else. Almost afraid of what he would see, Miguel followed her gaze, but felt his shoulders and entire soul relax at the sight of Sensei cradling Mr. LaRusso’s face, talking to him as if they were calming each other down.

They were usually reserved, very careful with the way they interacted in front of them, in public, with strangers and who else. But right now, all Miguel could see was need and something else.

Sensei seemed to relax, Mr. LaRusso nodded at him and smiled, still frowning, but he smiled before daring to kiss his partner softly.

It made Miguel smile, even if just a little.

“See?” He heard Anthony behind them, Miguel looked back. He was sitting in the car, Sam leaning her back on it at his side. “They’re fine, you’re just jealous because you’re not dad’s favorite person anymore.”

“Shut up, Antonio.” She said with a frown, but Miguel recognized the understanding on her face. 

It was hard, sometimes odd, but it wasn’t bad. He hoped she could see it.

“Miguel,” Robby called him, he looked at the boy and followed him behind the car, where no one could see them. “Are you okay? You’re still… like—I don’t know. How—how are you?”

“Dude,I have no idea how to answer that.” He said, swallowing after. “I just… I saw you—I saw you die.”

Robby blinked a couple of times with a frown, nodding. “I can’t stop thinking—I can’t stop thinking about that tree…”

He couldn’t help it, Miguel hugged Robby right away. He suspected he may be touching him a lot for the time being, making sure he was real and this wasn’t a cruel dream again. The boy hugged him back, but was soon pulling at his hoodie to make him look at his face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I meant it.” Robby swallowed visibly. “What I said… in the dream. I meant it. It’s real.”

Miguel opened his mouth to ask when it came to him— _ I love you _ . He felt his face heaten, and all he could do was look down and clear his throat, making the other boy laugh a little.

Everyone was getting into the car, they could hear Claire talking to Sensei as he put in his and Mr. LaRusso’s bags. 

But he looked up at Robby, tried to say something until he cradled Miguel’s face the same way he’d seen Sensei cradle Mr. LaRusso’s. The boy kissed him again, this time for real, this time here in the real world where they were alive and soon would be safe, away from this darkness.

His lips were warm, soft, he tasted of mint and something else that was just Robby. Miguel took a deep breath when their lips went apart, and soon kissed him again with his hands on his waist, keeping him close.

They stayed like this, kissing over and over again like nothing else mattered in the world, without opening their eyes at all, for what felt like forever. And when they finally went apart, they heard the engine start and Mr. LaRusso’s voice calling them.

“Let’s go home.” Miguel murmured, taking Robby’s hand as the boy nodded.

They got together on the back seats of the SUV, holding hands as Mr. LaRusso drove them away. If it was dangerous to drive through the woods to get to the highway at this hour, nobody cared as they did.

Miguel looked out of the window, the darkness within didn’t seem as monstrous anymore, and whatever had happened in those cabins, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to forget any time soon, or speak of it to anyone but these people.

He couldn’t wait to see his mother and never let of her again, of this boy, of Sensei, Sam—

There were still cries in the SUV as they went, a sigh of relief when the highway figured in front of them, Mr. LaRusso drove faster towards it as they couldn’t see the cabins anymore.

He looked in front when his eyes caught movement in his peripheral sight, watching as his Sensei took Mr. LaRusso’s free hand to his lips.

Robby squeezed his hand and Miguel looked back, smiling at him.

“Fuck Friday the 13th.” Anthony said, making Sam chuckle at least.

Man, he couldn’t agree more.

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS: The deads are temporary. It's a shared dream. That's also why it's non-linear, because dreams most of the times don't make sense and mix things here and there.
> 
> Thank you all for reading! You can find me for sure on [my Twitter](https://twitter.com/lawrussorights), but also sometimes on [Tumblr](http://lawrussorights.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Happy Halloween! Have a good one, and stay safe!


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